Now forgive me, dear fellow-banqueters, if I have spoken
at too great length ; and empty a glass to love and to woman.
Beautiful she is and lovely, if she be considered sesthetically.
That is undeniable. But, as has often been said, and as I
shall say also : one ought not to remain standing here, but
should go on.[1] Consider her, then, ethically and you will
hardly have begun to do so before the humor of it will be-
come apparent. Even Plato and Aristotle assume that
woman is an imperfect form, an irrational quantity, that is,
one which might some time, in a better world, be trans-
formed into a man. In this life one must take her as she is.
And what this is becomes apparent very soon ; for she will
not be content with the aesthetic sphere, but goes on, she
wants to become emancipated, and she has the courage to
say so. Let her wish be fulfilled and the amusement will be
simply incomparable.
When Constantin had finished speaking he forthwith ruled Victor Eremita to begin. He spoke as follows :
(Victor Eremita's Speech)
As will be remembered, Plato offers thanks to the gods for four things. In the fourth place he is grateful for hav- ing been permitted to be a contemporary of Socrates. For the three other boons mentioned by him,[2] an earlier Greek philosopher[3] had already thanked the gods, and so I con- clude that they are worthy our gratitude. But alas!—even if I wanted to express my gratitude like these Greeks I would not be able to do so for what was denied me. Let me then collect my soul in gratitude for the one good which was conferred on me also—that I was made a man and not a woman.
